Land use efficiency and productivity of rice (Oryza sativa) under various irrigation regimes and intercropping system

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-131
Author(s):  
E Subramanian ◽  
A Sathishkumar ◽  
P Rajesh

A field experiment was conducted at Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute, Aduthurai to assess the land use efficiency and productivity of rice under intercropping system. Treatments consisted of six irrigation regimes viz., IW (depth of irrigation water) / CPE (Cumulative pan evaporation) ratio 1 up to harvest, IW/CPE 0.75 up to 60 days thereafter IW/CPE 1, IW/CPE 0.75 up to 60 days thereafter IW/CPE 1.25, IW/CPE 0.75 up to 60 days thereafter IW/CPE 1.50, IW/CPE 1 up to 60 days thereafter IW/CPE 1.25 and IW/CPE 1 up to 60 days thereafter IW/CPE 1.50 and three cropping system viz., Rice alone, Rice + Blackgram and Rice + Greengram. Results revealed that application of irrigation water at different levels and cropping systems markedly influenced the growth, yield components and yield of rice. The maximum value of growth and yield components were recorded with the application of irrigation IW/CPE ratio of 1 up to 60 days thereafter IW/CPE ratio of 1.50 and among the cropping systems aerobic rice alone showed significantly higher growth and yield. Water productivity is higher in irrigation with IW/CPE ratio of 1 up to 60 days thereafter 1.50. The land equivalent ratio (LER) also revealed both the intercropping systems were advantageous. The results encourage the options of pulses could be grown as inter crop in rice.

Agriculture ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana-Maria Seserman ◽  
Dirk Freese ◽  
Anita Swieter ◽  
Maren Langhof ◽  
Maik Veste

The alley-cropping systems (ACSs), which integrate parallel tree strips at varying distances on an agricultural field can result, complementarity of resource use, in an increased land-use efficiency. Practitioners’ concerns have been directed towards the productivity of such systems given a reduced area covered by agricultural crops. The land equivalent ratio (LER) serves as a valuable productivity indicator of yield performance and land-use efficiency in ACSs, as it compares the yields achieved in monocultures to those from ACSs. Consequently, the objective of this combined experimental and simulation study was to assess the tree- and crop-yields and to derive the LER and gross energy yield for two temperate ACSs in Germany under different design scenarios, i.e., tree arrangements (lee- or wind-ward) and ratios of tree area to crop area. Both LER and gross energy yields resulted in a convex curve where the maximum values were achieved when either the tree or crop component was dominant (>75% of the land area) and minimum when these components shared similar proportions of land area. The implications of several design scenarios have been discussed in order to improve the decision-making, optimization, and adaptation of the design of ACSs with respect to site-specific characteristics.


Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huasen Xu ◽  
Huaxing Bi ◽  
Lubo Gao ◽  
Lei Yun

Alley cropping allows the famer to effectively use available resources and yield more benefits. Choosing suitable associated crop and mitigating the competition between trees and crops are crucial for designing the alley cropping systems. We conducted a long-term experiment, including apple (Malus pumila)/peanut (Arachis hypogaea), apple/millet (Setaria italica) and apple/maize (Zea mays) alley cropping systems with conventional intercropping distance, and corresponding monocultures (Exp.1), and a short-term experiment with improved intercropping distance in the same three combinations (Exp.2) in the Loess Plateau, China. The results showed crop yields in three alley cropping systems were lower than the corresponding monocultures. Apple yields were significantly constrained by millet and maize in the alley cropping systems, but not sensitive to the presence of peanut. Land equivalent ratios (LERs) ranged from 0.44 to 0.89 before the tree bore fruit. The LERs were greater than 1.0 after the tree bore fruit, and the apple trees made a decisive contribution to the land use advantage. Net present values of three alley cropping systems were on average 60.1% higher than the corresponding monocultures across the alley cropping period. The maximum annual present value in the first–fifth, sixth and seventh–ninth years after the alley cropping establishment was observed in the apple/maize, apple/millet and apple/peanut system, respectively. These results highlight that choosing the optimal alley cropping management and suitable associated crops at different years after establishment may allow farmers to increase the land use efficiency and economic profitability.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 863
Author(s):  
Heba S. A. Salama ◽  
Mahmoud H. Abdel-Moneim

The incorporation of both food and forage crops in an intercropping system is receiving increasing attention, especially in developing countries with increasing populations and limited resources. In a two-year (2019–2020) field trial, conducted in Northern Egypt, productivity of soybean and fodder maize, as well as the quality of maize herbage, were investigated under three sowing schedules; soybean and maize sown together, and maize sown 15 and 30 days after soybean, in addition to soybean and fodder maize sown in pure stands, with maize harvested at green fodder maturity (GFM), and silage maturity (SM). Harvesting fodder maize at SM resulted in higher herbage yield than harvesting it at GFM, yet it negatively affected the soybean productivity. However, this negative impact was offset when fodder maize sowing was delayed 30 days after soybean sowing. Maize harvested at GFM was characterized by a higher leaf component, which was reflected in its higher crude protein content, yet the decline in quality with advanced maturity was to a great extent, counterbalanced by the presence of high-quality ears in maize harvested at SM. This was clear in its lower fiber and higher non-fiber carbohydrate contents. Land equivalent ratio (LER) demonstrated yield advantage with the delayed sowing of fodder maize (LER > 1), while the dry matter equivalent ratio (DMER) associated the yield advantage with the late harvesting of fodder maize at SM (DMER > 1), across all sowing schedules, which was more realistic for an additive intercropping model where the dry matter is the economic component. In a soybean-fodder maize intercropping system, whether fodder maize will be cultivated for green feeding or for silage production, it is recommended that sowing is delayed until 30 days after the soybean, in order to maximize yield advantage and land use efficiency.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 316
Author(s):  
Leonardo Diogo Ehle Dias ◽  
Jucimar Ferreira Neves ◽  
Leandro Batista Da Silva ◽  
Franciely Da Silva Ponce ◽  
Oscar Mitsuo Yamashita ◽  
...  

Lettuce and summer squash are two important vegetables cultivated in peri-urban areas the cities in Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Their intercropping can increase the efficiency of the use of the area and the seasonality of harvest. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and summer squash (Cucurbita moschata) in a conventional crop system and intercropped with different lettuce transplant period. These being the result of mono-cropping systems and intercropped lettuce with staked summer squash in six transplanting seasons of the lettuce and the monocropping of the trailing summer squash. The simultaneous transplantation of the two species provided the best performance of the lettuce. Summer squash production per plant did not differ between cropping systems; however, increased productivity was obtained with intercropping due to the higher density of plants. All the periods of inter-cropping establishment showed positive rates of land-use efficiency. For the summer squash production, intercropping systems provide better yield; however, the system hampers the development and production of lettuce.


1992 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Clément ◽  
François-P. Chalifour ◽  
Ghislain Gendron ◽  
Maheshwar P. Bharati

Cereal/legume intercropping is a common practice in low-input agricultural systems. Under appropriate conditions, it usually results in higher overall productivity as compared with pure stands. Appraisal of agronomic practices is of particular importance, since component crops sometimes differ considerably in their structure and fertilization needs. An experiment was conducted under the subtropical conditions of Southern Nepal, in the Terai belt, in 1988 and 1989. Maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) received 0, 35 or 70 kg N ha−1 when grown either in pure stands or when intercropped in two spatial arrangements differing in spatial intimacy. Nitrogen fertilization resulted in similar grain yield increases for maize either in pure stands or in intercropping with soybean, indicating that the availability of nitrogen for the cereal was comparable in both cropping systems. Soybean yields were 22% lower in the presence of maize, as compared with a pure stand. The overall productivity of intercropping, as assessed by ATER (area-time equivalent ratio), was significantly higher than that of pure stands in 1988 and 1989. Land-use efficiency was higher when maize was intercropped with nodulating soybean, as compared to non-nodulating soybean, but only at 0 and 35 kg N ha−1.Key words: ATER, land-use efficiency, non-nodulating soybean isoline, nitrogen fertilization, spatial arrangement, interactions


Author(s):  
Lucivania R. Lima ◽  
Thieres G. F. da Silva ◽  
Alexandre M. da R. F. Jardim ◽  
Carlos A. A. de Souza ◽  
Maria G. de Queiroz ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The effects of the forage cactus sorghum configuration and different irrigation depths on the growth, water use and efficiency of the forage cactus production system were investigated in this study. The experiment was conducted in the municipality of Serra Talhada, Pernambuco State, Brazil, between the years 2012 and 2013. Forage cactus was distributed in randomized blocks with factorial scheme and four replicates, in split plots (5 x 2), with five irrigation depths (0, 8.75, 17.5, 26.25 and 35% of the reference evapotranspiration, ET0) and two cropping systems (forage cactus monocropping and forage cactus sorghum intercropping). Crop evapotranspiration was calculated through soil water balance. The ratio between crop and reference evapotranspiration, and land use and water use efficiencies, were estimated. Irrigation depths and the intercropping affected only forage cactus canopy width and cladode biomass. The ratio between crop and reference evapotranspiration increased with the increase of irrigation depths, while the highest water use efficiency based on dry matter occurred at irrigation depths higher than 1,096 mm year-1 in the intercropping (21.8 ± 6.8 kg ha-1 mm-1). Irrigation depths did not affect land use efficiency (0.83). Water depths from 1,096 to 1,202 mm year-1 are recommended in the forage cactus sorghum system.


2005 ◽  
Vol 95 (5) ◽  
pp. 417-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Chabi-Olaye ◽  
C. Nolte ◽  
F. Schulthess ◽  
C. Borgemeister

AbstractStem borers are the most important maize pests in the humid forest zone of Cameroon. Field trials were conducted in the long and short rainy seasons of 2002 and 2003 to assess the level of damage and yield reductions caused by stem borers in monocropped maize and in maize intercropped with non-host plants such as cassava, cowpea and soybean. The intercrops were planted in two spatial arrangements, i.e. alternating hills or alternating rows. All intercrops and the maize monocrop were grown with and without insecticide treatment for assessment of maize yield loss due to borer attacks. The land-use efficiency of each mixed cropping system was evaluated by comparing it with the monocrop. The temporal fluctuation of larval infestations followed the same pattern in all cropping systems, but at the early stage of plant growth, larval densities were 21.3–48.1% higher in the monocrops than in intercrops, and they tended to be higher in alternating rows than alternating hills arrangements. At harvest, however, pest densities did not significantly vary between treatments. Maize monocrops had 3.0–8.8 times more stems tunnelled and 1.3–3.1 times more cob damage than intercrops. Each percentage increase in stem tunnelling lowered maize grain yield by 1.10 and 1.84 g per plant, respectively, during the long and short rainy season in 2002, and by 5.39 and 1.41 g per plant, respectively, in 2003. Maize yield losses due to stem borer were 1.8–3.0 times higher in monocrops than in intercrops. Intercrops had generally a higher land-use efficiency than monocrops, as indicated by land-equivalent-ratios and area-time-equivalent-ratios of >1.0. Land-use efficiency was similar in both spatial arrangements. At current price levels, the net production of mixed cropping systems was economically superior to controlling stem borers with insecticide in monocropped maize. The maize–cassava intercrop yielded the highest land equivalent ratios and the highest replacement value of the intercrop. At medium intensity cropping this system is thus recommended for land-constrained poor farmers who do not use external inputs such as fertilizer and insecticides.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 715
Author(s):  
Yingkai Tang ◽  
Kun Wang ◽  
Xuanming Ji ◽  
He Xu ◽  
Yangqing Xiao

Rapid urbanization has provided a strong impetus for the economic growth of China, but it has also caused many problems such as inefficient urban land use and environmental pollution. With the popularization of the concept of green and sustainable development, the Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG) assessment concept is widely accepted. The government and residents are paying more and more attention to environmental issues in urban development, and environmental protection has formed an important part of urban development. In this context, this study takes 26 cities in the Yangtze River Delta as examples to build an evaluation system for urban land-use efficiency under green development orientation. The evaluation system takes into account the inputs of land, capital, labor, and energy factors in the process of urban development. Based on emphasizing economic output, the social benefits and undesired outputs brought about by urban development are taken into account. This paper measures urban land use efficiency by the super-efficiency SBM model, and on this basis, analyses the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of urban land-use efficiency. Further, this paper measures urban land use efficiency without considering undesired outputs and compares the two evaluation methods. Again, the comparison illustrates the rationality of urban land use efficiency evaluation system under green development orientation.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 303
Author(s):  
Xinhai Lu ◽  
Yifeng Tang ◽  
Shangan Ke

The construction and operation of high-speed rail (HSR) has become an important policy for China to achieve efficiency and fairness and promote high-quality economic growth. HSR promotes the flow of production factors such as labor and capital and affects economic growth, and may further affect urban land use efficiency (ULUE). To explore the impact of HSR on ULUE, this paper uses panel data of 284 cities in China from 2005 to 2018, and constructs Propensity Score Matching-Differences in Differences model to evaluate the effect of HSR on ULUE. The result of entire China demonstrates that the HSR could significantly improves the ULUE. Meanwhile, this paper also considers the heterogeneity of results caused by geographic location, urban levels and scales. It demonstrates that the HSR has a significantly positive effect on ULUE of Eastern, Central China, and large-sized cities. However, in Western China, in medium-sized, and small-sized cities, the impact of HSR on ULUE is not significant. This paper concludes that construction and operation of HSR should be linked to urban development planning and land use planning. Meanwhile, the cities with different geographical locations and scales should take advantage of HSR to improve ULUE and promote urban coordinated development.


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